Currently undergoing a growth surge of the kind that has never been seen on the coast before, the council’s role will be critical in keeping momentum going.
Growth means a prosperous future for the coast. It means a future for our children and generations to come.
Since the forced amalgamation of the two old protagonists, Wyong Shire and Gosford City, the progress has been astounding. Council is suddenly getting DAs moving and exciting new projects are shooting up in Gosford and Terrigal, in particular.
The mudslinging, pork barreling and personal attacks disappeared overnight as the council got on with its actual job of working for us, the people who actually pay rates.
Bogging down in boring, unproductive party politics has thankfully also disappeared and hopefully the new council can see beyond childish attacks between factions.
This lack of “garbage politics” was just what the coast didn’t need at a time when we were failing to keep up with the major development rate of areas like western Sydney.
The role of a local council in today’s modern world is to provide an enhanced lifestyle for its residents. This means providing community facilities, maintaining and upgrading roads and public areas, supplying clean water and reliable sewerage systems to name just a few of the many services provided
However it also means it must play a critical role in assisting local businesses to grow and prosper. Once again, business growth means more jobs and more money flowing into our region.
We live in a democratic free economy commonwealth. In order for our nation to maintain and enhance our lifestyle we need to ensure that this section of our society is kept at the forefront of our local government vision for the future.
This, after, all, is a region where small businesses dominate the economy. Government statistics show that small business employs half the workforce.
Indeed there are more than 600,000 businesses in Australia employing 1-4 people.
The employment rate is booming in this demographic with 90,000new jobs added in the past year. There are 1.2M sole traders.
This means there are tens of thousands of small businesses on the Central Coast.
Our new council needs to work hand in hand with these people to ensure they get the support and facilities they need to grow and employ more people.
There Is still much to be done. The new councilors have it within their power to turn the coast into a powerhouse of great enterprise and innovation.
Hopefully they can capture the vision and go with it. Our future and the future of generations to come is in their capable hands.
